Has it really been over five months since my last post? I really am terrible when it comes to therapeutic writing…sorry to make you wait!
To be honest, lately I’ve been going through a bit of a writer’s block. But as one of my English-major friends bluntly said with astounding simplicity, “Jacky, if you’re writing, then you’re not in a block.” So, let me just start from there.
I haven’t read nearly enough books this summer, but I did manage to finish a couple novels and short stories by the famed Haruki Murakami. The Japanese author is most celebrated for his use of imagery between realism and illusory lines, yet, personally, I’m just amazed anyone could write with such fluency. I mean, who else could purposefully describe a young male working in a record store? And take up five pages doing so? And make me enjoy reading that? It’s a rare talent, for sure.
Anyhow, what I really wanted to talk about is the rumored financial bubble within the tech industry. However, since there are far too many intricate parts, (Translation: Not everyone will be interested in this possibly mundane topic) I will attempt to emulate Murakami’s style of prose and not drift too far into my ramblings. Have a reason behind every detail and lead every sentence back to a main idea. After all, simplicity is key.
But if you absolutely do not care, at least read this short story by Murakami.
Now, let’s start from the beginning.
What is the meaning of a bubble in economics? In its very basic concept, this is when something becomes more valuable than it really is. For example, during the golden years of the Dutch empire, tulip bulbs became so popular that one bulb could be used to buy a house!
Likewise, some economists today believe that the products of Facebook and Groupon have also become overvalued. Both companies have drawn widespread attention not only for its ingenuity, but also the amount of funding invested in its upkeep. For many financial analysts, the uncertainty remains, “What if the investment is not worth it?”
It’s similar to questioning if Lebron James is overrated. But that’s a story for another time.
For economists (and soap bubble enthusiasts alike), the scary part of having a bubble is that it is likely to burst at some point. In the case of the tulip craze, this meant that, after a certain point, everyone had spent their life savings on the bulbs. Because everyone now possessed the bulbs, demand for the flowers fell, causing the price of a tulip bulb to plummet dramatically. Suddenly, the Dutch people were left with worthless flowers and no money for food and shelter.
Pop! And the bulbs were no longer so valuable.
Learning from history, many researchers are beginning to question the web-based corporation giants. For all it’s worth, Groupon simply posts deals from merchants, Facebook reconnects old high school friends, Twitter lets me know when a colleague is eating, and Google lets others search for “I am terrified of Chinese people.” Are these creations truly worth billions of dollars?
While an existing tech bubble is unlikely, the high valuations of these web-oriented firms could lead people to invest heavily in the upstarts of web-based networks and companies, hoping to receive comparable profits and successes. Without a doubt, the added competition would help to accelerate innovation, yet there could also be a vast array of imitation Facebook sites and failed products. In short, many more billions of dollars could be spent before investors realize that the world only needs so many ways to ‘poke’ a friend.
Okay, I think I have rambled off a bit much, so I’ll leave you with one last question: Where do you think the tech industry is headed?
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Fisheye
A couple weeks ago, my friends and I went on an adventure to become amateur photographers. Armed with a Fisheye camera and two rolls of 35mm film, we ran around the university campus and captured every random moment that came through. Here are some of my favorite frames (along with some unnecessary commentary):
At first, I was somewhat hesitant on showing photos of my friends because I wasn't sure how they would feel about being on a public blog. But what could they do, sue me?
Speaking of legal charges, I once read an article about how a Texas senator filed a lawsuit against God. Apparently, the only reason this case couldn’t go through was because the court could not obtain an physical address for God. Life certainly gets more interesting with each newspaper clip.
…And back to what I was talking about…
I’ll definitely be posting more photographs soon! In the meantime, let me know about your photography interests!
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| Hallo |
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| Everything about the composition seems surreal |
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| You can't go wrong with a few great friends and some snacks |
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| Blurred but still nice |
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| Well, I think this is kinda cool |
Speaking of legal charges, I once read an article about how a Texas senator filed a lawsuit against God. Apparently, the only reason this case couldn’t go through was because the court could not obtain an physical address for God. Life certainly gets more interesting with each newspaper clip.
…And back to what I was talking about…
I’ll definitely be posting more photographs soon! In the meantime, let me know about your photography interests!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Except for Poetry
I’d like to think that, starting from my earliest childhood memories, I’ve done quite a bit of writing.
In the first grade, I remember being excited when I finally learned to spell ‘airplane.’ During the sixth grade, I filled a black composition notebook with “Ghost Stories: The Scary Adventures of Jacky and Friends.” Unfortunately, I used the word ‘erotic’ to describe the girl who had become my first crush. Ever since, my love life has continued to experience a few nicks here and there…
But, of course, that’s a story for another time.
By the end of middle school, I had kept various journals; some notepads contained only one or two short entries while a select few can tell you the daily weather conditions for entire years. When high school ended, I had caught a glimpse into journalism, creative writing, and every literary genre in-between.
Well, everything except for the art of poetry.
I guess my lack of aspiration to jot down poems comes mainly from my inability to comprehend celebrated works such as those of Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson. As much as you might admire their use of rhythm or imagery, I will become confused before the first line is read.
But, in hoping to develop my writing, I’d like to gain at least some experience in poetry. Thus, here’s a short piece I had written several days ago:
Ordinary
His tried eyes,
they asked God,
In such an ordinary day,
how can you find perfection?
And suddenly, he understood.
Let me know what you think and how you interpreted this poem. Also, if you enjoy writing your own verses, please do share them!
In the first grade, I remember being excited when I finally learned to spell ‘airplane.’ During the sixth grade, I filled a black composition notebook with “Ghost Stories: The Scary Adventures of Jacky and Friends.” Unfortunately, I used the word ‘erotic’ to describe the girl who had become my first crush. Ever since, my love life has continued to experience a few nicks here and there…
But, of course, that’s a story for another time.
By the end of middle school, I had kept various journals; some notepads contained only one or two short entries while a select few can tell you the daily weather conditions for entire years. When high school ended, I had caught a glimpse into journalism, creative writing, and every literary genre in-between.
Well, everything except for the art of poetry.
I guess my lack of aspiration to jot down poems comes mainly from my inability to comprehend celebrated works such as those of Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson. As much as you might admire their use of rhythm or imagery, I will become confused before the first line is read.
But, in hoping to develop my writing, I’d like to gain at least some experience in poetry. Thus, here’s a short piece I had written several days ago:
Ordinary
His tried eyes,
they asked God,
In such an ordinary day,
how can you find perfection?
And suddenly, he understood.
Let me know what you think and how you interpreted this poem. Also, if you enjoy writing your own verses, please do share them!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Ice Skating on Boots
Contrary to popular belief, econometrics does not actually study the economics of the metric system.
I found this out the hard way today as my university began its spring semester courses. Unfortunately, it’s definitely anything but spring weather. Hours after I arrived back to my apartment, a sideways snowstorm (the term “blizzard” doesn’t do it justice) drove through our campus. And as if the twelve-plus inches of blinding whiteness weren’t enough, freezing rain began pouring down during the evening! Luckily, I’m sort of beginning to enjoy the whole ice-skating-on-boots gala.
So, if you're from the "it's so cold that I don't understand why someone would think settling here was a smart idea" area, any advice on getting through winters would be greatly appreciated.
But where was I? Oh, yes, econometrics! It’s essentially the application of statistical tools to analyze the variables of multiple economic theories. By the way, did I mention that I’m probably going to graduate to become the world’s most interesting dinner date?
I found this out the hard way today as my university began its spring semester courses. Unfortunately, it’s definitely anything but spring weather. Hours after I arrived back to my apartment, a sideways snowstorm (the term “blizzard” doesn’t do it justice) drove through our campus. And as if the twelve-plus inches of blinding whiteness weren’t enough, freezing rain began pouring down during the evening! Luckily, I’m sort of beginning to enjoy the whole ice-skating-on-boots gala.
So, if you're from the "it's so cold that I don't understand why someone would think settling here was a smart idea" area, any advice on getting through winters would be greatly appreciated.
But where was I? Oh, yes, econometrics! It’s essentially the application of statistical tools to analyze the variables of multiple economic theories. By the way, did I mention that I’m probably going to graduate to become the world’s most interesting dinner date?
Saturday, January 15, 2011
A Flat Nose
“Gay love is a form of hatred.”
Wait, what?
Earlier today, I was explaining to a friend about the short text Plato’s Symposium, which I found stuffed away in a bookshelf at home. I decided to take a quick read through, and part of the dialogue claimed that homosexual relationships tend to embody love in its purest form. But I guess my friend had a different take on the subject.
And so I asked him why he feels that homosexuality denotes hate. Being a devout Christian, his explanation was that the Bible condemns such acts. He added that, unlike the Old Testament and its horde of contemporarily bizarre rules, the disapproval of gays can be found in the New Testament, a proclaimed benchmark for morality. Therefore, he was not just some religious fanatic who followed each law within the holy literature.
On a side note, my friend made a good point about the Old Testament. Did you know that, in the book of Leviticus, one law specifically prohibits people with flat noses from visiting an altar of God?
Soon, my curiosity got the better of me and I began bombarding my friend with questions.
Why should homosexuality be considered immoral?
“Well, I could use practical reasons, like how we were meant to reproduce. But, bottom line is I sincerely believe it is wrong.”
What makes it wrong?
“Why is stealing wrong? Or incest? Because there is a higher power and a higher moral code.”
But how do you differentiate between what a higher power states and what is only claimed by man?
By this point in our conversation, I was slowly becoming the nagging five-year-old who responds to all statements with an innocent “why?” It didn’t help that my friend’s retorts were becoming more and more abstract.
“What is right and what is wrong? Can you really justify morality?”
But what makes YOU believe in something?
“Oh, in that case, it’s faith.”
I guess this is the key difference between our views on the idea of faith. To my friend, faith is used to validate his devotion to the values of God. As for myself, I believe in having values found through experiences and pray for faith in upholding them.
Which approach is the right one, and how could you ever explain such an answer? That, I will never know.
But I’m pretty sure my nose is too flat for God’s altar.
Wait, what?
Earlier today, I was explaining to a friend about the short text Plato’s Symposium, which I found stuffed away in a bookshelf at home. I decided to take a quick read through, and part of the dialogue claimed that homosexual relationships tend to embody love in its purest form. But I guess my friend had a different take on the subject.
And so I asked him why he feels that homosexuality denotes hate. Being a devout Christian, his explanation was that the Bible condemns such acts. He added that, unlike the Old Testament and its horde of contemporarily bizarre rules, the disapproval of gays can be found in the New Testament, a proclaimed benchmark for morality. Therefore, he was not just some religious fanatic who followed each law within the holy literature.
On a side note, my friend made a good point about the Old Testament. Did you know that, in the book of Leviticus, one law specifically prohibits people with flat noses from visiting an altar of God?
Soon, my curiosity got the better of me and I began bombarding my friend with questions.
Why should homosexuality be considered immoral?
“Well, I could use practical reasons, like how we were meant to reproduce. But, bottom line is I sincerely believe it is wrong.”
What makes it wrong?
“Why is stealing wrong? Or incest? Because there is a higher power and a higher moral code.”
But how do you differentiate between what a higher power states and what is only claimed by man?
By this point in our conversation, I was slowly becoming the nagging five-year-old who responds to all statements with an innocent “why?” It didn’t help that my friend’s retorts were becoming more and more abstract.
“What is right and what is wrong? Can you really justify morality?”
But what makes YOU believe in something?
“Oh, in that case, it’s faith.”
I guess this is the key difference between our views on the idea of faith. To my friend, faith is used to validate his devotion to the values of God. As for myself, I believe in having values found through experiences and pray for faith in upholding them.
Which approach is the right one, and how could you ever explain such an answer? That, I will never know.
But I’m pretty sure my nose is too flat for God’s altar.
Friday, January 14, 2011
The Pizza Paradox
Lately, I’ve been reading up on the subject of logic. (Translation: I’ve been looking through Wikipedia pages related to the matters of logic.)
The segment that really caught my attention was the concept of paradoxes. Usually, these contradictions are found within ancient Greek poems and philosophies, such as the Cretan Paradox. This particular case tells of a Cretan philosopher who claimed that all Cretans are liars. Naturally, this statement fell into a series of “Well, if all Cretans are liars, how is this guy telling the truth? But if he is telling the truth, then not all Cretans are liars, which refutes the sentence!” Presumably, the paradox-analyst (Do they exist?) will conclude with some serious forehead-to-wall-collisions…
Only after some thorough research, (Translation: More Wikipedia pages) did I find that there were actually several proposed resolutions to the perpetual cycle, such as the Principle of Bivalence. In short, it’s a numerical attempt to deduce that a statement can be neither true nor false. Aha, eureka moment here! But I’ll leave this thought for another time…like when I actually understand what’s going on.
As I continued down the list of logical ironies, I began wondering if I could come up with one of my own. How cool would it be to create my legacy in the absurdities of a paradox?!
Okay, so maybe it won’t get me the girl of my dreams…
Unfortunately, (and luckily for my love life) I couldn’t think of a situation that could lead itself in circles. The closest I got was telling my friend not to follow my instructions, to which she gave me a blank glare.
However, I do remember when, back in high school, a classmate won a disputed slice of pepperoni pizza by claiming that the other guy “argues about everything!” The other guy could only stutter in response, knowing that if he objected, all self-dignity would’ve been lost in proving his opponent right.
Perhaps, one day, mathematicians and philosophers will refer to this historical event as the Pizza Paradox...
Needless to say, paradoxes are incredibly interesting! Once you break down the puzzles through logic, you see that there’s both a mathematical and linguistic approach to analyzing, and both fields are significant as well as confusing.
What’s your take on the topic? Any favorite paradoxes? A curious mind wants to know.
The segment that really caught my attention was the concept of paradoxes. Usually, these contradictions are found within ancient Greek poems and philosophies, such as the Cretan Paradox. This particular case tells of a Cretan philosopher who claimed that all Cretans are liars. Naturally, this statement fell into a series of “Well, if all Cretans are liars, how is this guy telling the truth? But if he is telling the truth, then not all Cretans are liars, which refutes the sentence!” Presumably, the paradox-analyst (Do they exist?) will conclude with some serious forehead-to-wall-collisions…
Only after some thorough research, (Translation: More Wikipedia pages) did I find that there were actually several proposed resolutions to the perpetual cycle, such as the Principle of Bivalence. In short, it’s a numerical attempt to deduce that a statement can be neither true nor false. Aha, eureka moment here! But I’ll leave this thought for another time…like when I actually understand what’s going on.
As I continued down the list of logical ironies, I began wondering if I could come up with one of my own. How cool would it be to create my legacy in the absurdities of a paradox?!
Okay, so maybe it won’t get me the girl of my dreams…
Unfortunately, (and luckily for my love life) I couldn’t think of a situation that could lead itself in circles. The closest I got was telling my friend not to follow my instructions, to which she gave me a blank glare.
However, I do remember when, back in high school, a classmate won a disputed slice of pepperoni pizza by claiming that the other guy “argues about everything!” The other guy could only stutter in response, knowing that if he objected, all self-dignity would’ve been lost in proving his opponent right.
Perhaps, one day, mathematicians and philosophers will refer to this historical event as the Pizza Paradox...
Needless to say, paradoxes are incredibly interesting! Once you break down the puzzles through logic, you see that there’s both a mathematical and linguistic approach to analyzing, and both fields are significant as well as confusing.
What’s your take on the topic? Any favorite paradoxes? A curious mind wants to know.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Rants and Professions of Love
This year, I resolve speak with more confidence.
Okay, so maybe keeping a blog doesn’t exactly help that…BUT, MAYBE IF I WRITE LIKE THIS…well, you get the idea.
All jokes aside, I think part of being more assertive comes from having a clear mind, so I’ve decided to write my thoughts here as a way of finding focus through my jumbled ramblings. At the very least, perhaps I could jot down my random musings and reflections so I don’t daydream through every class. No matter what, it’ll certainly be cheaper than therapy.
So, if you’re reading this, be prepared for a lot of rants on New England winters and professions of love for Japanese curry. And when I’m old and senile, I’ll be reading this blog for some laughs. Hopefully, by then, I’ll have developed a very macho speech.
Wish me luck!
Okay, so maybe keeping a blog doesn’t exactly help that…BUT, MAYBE IF I WRITE LIKE THIS…well, you get the idea.
All jokes aside, I think part of being more assertive comes from having a clear mind, so I’ve decided to write my thoughts here as a way of finding focus through my jumbled ramblings. At the very least, perhaps I could jot down my random musings and reflections so I don’t daydream through every class. No matter what, it’ll certainly be cheaper than therapy.
So, if you’re reading this, be prepared for a lot of rants on New England winters and professions of love for Japanese curry. And when I’m old and senile, I’ll be reading this blog for some laughs. Hopefully, by then, I’ll have developed a very macho speech.
Wish me luck!
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